March 19, 2012

"No greenhouse gas, a tiny carbon footprint up your ass/I'm on a motherfucking bike/Sharing my aggression is what that I do/Every day I'm riding the 'Tour de Fuck You'/Banging on hoods and kicking in fenders/a right-of-way-aholic on a permanent bender..."

That IS what it's like out there. Just last week, a car used the delineated parking lane (next to the bike lane) as his own personal driving lane. Brushed right by me, on my right. I was not expecting it. Did not see him until he was next to me. RIGHT next to me. He had another 50' to the light.

Agreed. I lived in NYC for 11 years and found that as a pedestrian, cyclists, in particular the messengers, were far more dangerous to my personal well-being than cars.

I guess with most such groups, the minority tarnish the reputation of the majority who are courteous, but if metropolitan cyclists wanted more respect overall, they would be well advised to police their own.

Because I'm curious about the whole fixie thing. I mean, what the fuck? One gear? What is the point to that? It saves you what, 7 ounces of weight, and an unmeasurably small amount of gear friction, and in return, you're stuck in one fucking gear for all situations?

Unbelievably stupid, a devolution of the bicycle. It's like ripping the fuel injection system out of my car and installing a carburetor.

If you want to see fixed gear no-brake idiots properly dismantled, read bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com. I hope to never be on the wrong side of his words.

cyclists, in particular the messengers, were far more dangerous to my personal well-being than cars.

Yes and no. I'm pretty sure you'd a rather get hit by a bike than a car. If you read the paper in NYC you'll see something every other day about a pedestrian getting killed by a car. Bikes? Not really.

And the real idiots are not the recreational or commuting cyclists. They are, as you say, messengers or food delivery guys. They'll do anything. They are starting to crack down on them though and I've seen multiple restaurant delivery dudes getting ticketed. I do feel bad for them even though they bother me. Those tickets are expensive on their pay (and likely sending a bunch of that pay back home).

As someone who rides several thousand miles in the city and surrounding area the really annoying thing I often see and NEVER hear anyone talk about is pedestrians getting in one's way even when they don't have the right of way. Also peds will step into the street without even looking????? They often continue to cross without looking to see if there is fast approaching traffic or not. Crazy.

"Because I'm curious about the whole fixie thing. I mean, what the fuck? One gear? What is the point to that? It saves you what, 7 ounces of weight, and an unmeasurably small amount of gear friction, and in return, you're stuck in one fucking gear for all situations?"

Fixed gears are used in track racing where one optimum gear is selected and the bikes have no brakes...you slow the bike by resisting the forward momentum of the pedals which are not connected to a freewheel, rather the hub is "fixed". Brakes are too dangerous and illegal on the track because riders are so close together.

I raced back in the day and used to train on a fixed gear bike in the city where I lived because the fixed gear would force you to develop a perfectly smooth pedal style as you could hit 200 rpm downhill. I did add a front brake though...the hills in SF are steep.

With a fixed gear you have a very direct connection to the road. It was fun to ride but I used a geared bike for racing and long training rides.

I only ride a mountain bike anymore, but even if I did ride the road I would avoid the hipster doofus set like the plague.

I suspect the people in cars gunning for bikers are the pedestrians the bikers were gunning for the day before.

Bikers are out of control in San Francisco. Last year, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a biker who ran a red light.

Bikers are not satisfied with the millions of dollars of bike lanes provided for them. They ride where they will, totally disregard traffic lights, pedestrians, drivers or anything else that gets in the way.

For all that they're so "green", they're destroying trails by going off road in spite of rules banning bikes from sensitive trail areas.

"Share the road", to a biker, means "everyone else get the hell out of my way".

People are fed up, however, and the number of biker/pedestrian accidents has risen to the point where police are now patrolling particularly bad intersections and citing bikers for traffic violations. Hopefully it'll help, but I doubt it.

No one was ever killed by a reckless pedestrian, save, of course, the reckless pedestrian.....I live in NYC. Bikers keep you alert and spry. It's all one way streets here, but I've taken to looking in both directions before jaywalking.....In terms of vehicular arrogance, there is nothing to compare to the NYC cab driver. There's chicken before the egg phenomenon. Does driving in NYC make them assholes or do they choose to make their living driving in NYC because they are assholes?

People are fed up, however, and the number of biker/pedestrian accidents has risen to the point where police are now patrolling particularly bad intersections and citing bikers for traffic violations. Hopefully it'll help, but I doubt it.

There is a perfectly good bike path half a block away from the major road that connects my little village to the rest of civilization, but it's not good enough for the spandex commandos. They got to get in traffic and give everyone the finger when they don't get the right of way.Jerks.

The fixie dude with the tight pants, converse kicks, and ear-flap hat is my favorite. I've seen quite a few versions of that guy in my area. The angry Brit chucking two birds through the intersection is a close second. Thanks Ann for the link. I'll be sharing this one alot today.

I guess the gangsta cyclists can console themselves that they're saving the planet, but that neglects the harmful mining and manufacturing processes needed to make the bikes. Tires from rubber tree plantations must be bad for the environment somehow, too. Vulcanization must be polluting. Grease for the chains comes from oil, usually the petroleum-based kind, and we all know how bad that is. More green sophistry.

If you're a pedestrian the greatest danger you face is not from cars, buses and trucks, whose direction can at least be anticipated but from bikers who come out of nowhere wrongwaying it down one way streets.

joe schmoe beat me to it... where the heck do these obnoxious, self-righteous jerks think their bikes come from? magic 'green' bikeland? do they think that they are each individually ridden to the bike store? it's akin to the electric car drivers who don't realize that their car is actually running on coal. dipshits.

You have to work close to the handlebars to feel what is true and good about dodging the cyclist. Many here complain about cyclists. But they are not true men and do not work close to the handlebars. Those with the grace to stare down the rush of the cyclist, know what it is to be in truth alive on the first spring day.

"el polacko said... joe schmoe beat me to it... where the heck do these obnoxious, self-righteous jerks think their bikes come from? magic 'green' bikeland? do they think that they are each individually ridden to the bike store? it's akin to the electric car drivers who don't realize that their car is actually running on coal. dipshits"

I don't know the figures on the hybrids, but gars conversted from combustion engines to electric cost, on average .02 to .03 cents per mile to run, based on cost of electric charging. Of course, they don't need oil changes or calytic coverters, either. Batteries have to be replaced, but they last a long time.

Bicycles, obviously, costs a lot less to produce than a car, and your motive power is your legs--for most people.

I fail to see the "dipshit" energy-use quotient you apparently referred to.